Spring Ministry Update

Hello Partners in the ministry of Jesus Christ!It’s been a while since my last official update, so I wanted to take some time to fill y’all in on everything ministry-wise as well as giving some prayer requests moving forward.

Traveling and Teaching

This past semester I was blessed to travel to Michigan twice to teach for the middle school and high school youth groups on their separate winter retreats. For years my dad has spoken at the winter and summer camp retreats. I grew up attending the youth group while I was in middle school. For both retreats I tried my best to focus on the simple Gospel. Both groups let me choose the theme and feel for the weekend. Part of me loves that creative freedom and another part of me always gets a little nervous. For the Middle Schoolers we focused on the theme of Identity. The tag for the weekend was “Who are you? You are who God calls you!”. We talked about how when the Gospel is at the center of our identity we are able to walk in this world in peace. We don't search for our identity in the world because we have been called righteous by our heavenly Father because of how Jesus took our place on the cross. For the Teens the theme for the weekend was Coming Home to the Gospel. We talked about how we were created to long for and desire home, a place where we’re accepted, wanted and treasured. We looked at the story of the Prodigal Son and his brother, and how they both looked for their home in the wrong place.I feel like God used this difficult theme to really speak to the hearts of the campers about their eternal hope and home in heaven with Jesus. Both weeks I left feeling ministered to. Jesus tends to use the topics that I am teaching to convict my own heart and push me closer to him. I was so honored to be used by God to speak to the youth and inspire them to follow Jesus with their whole hearts and lives!

Serving at Emmaus

Over the past few months I have taught Mark, 1st Corinthians and 1st Peter. Teaching for Emmaus, to me, feels like playing for the Major Leagues. As I tackle the unique challenges of each book, I wonder how I will bring the books alive for the students.. The temptation for my flesh is to make each book about me and how great I can teach it or how impressive and how much of an authority I am on the book. Instead I try to let the learning and discovering happen in the minds and hearts of the students. Learning usually sticks better when a student comes to a conclusion themselves, rather than when they are brought to one.

The Bridge- Assisted Living Home

Once a month I lead two church services for the residents of an Assisted Living Home. I was given this opportunity by a friend who used to teach there.It has surprised and humbled me that my time spent here is usually the highlight of my monthMost of my teaching experience has been with people ages 13-25. However, the application for that age group is vastly different than it is for a group of people who have already lived a full life and are nearing the end of their time on earth. This has stretched me and blessed me in so many ways as a Bible teacher, and I look forward to this responsibility every month!

Looking Forward.

There are many exciting things coming up! First, Lauren and I are in the middle of wedding planning! We are super excited about getting married and are working towards getting all the details figured out. We hope to have a date figured out by the middle of May. We were both blown away by all of the congratulations we received. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement! Second, this summer I will be teaching at two different summer camps. The first one will be at camp Lurecrest.The second week I will be tag teaming with my Dad at a family camp in Ohio. Lastly, we have assigned the books that we are going to be teaching in the Fall for the Old Testament. I will be teaching Deuteronomy, Joshua, Ezekiel, Joel and Zechariah. I’m really excited to tackle these books! I’m going to be using the entire summer to get ready for Deuteronomy and Joshua (I’ll be teaching them back to back).

Prayer Request.

Now that I’m engaged and going to be married by this time next year I really feel the pressure to get fully funded. I’m going to get back to support raising this week and, to be honest, I’m a little nervous. Please pray for God to stir in the hearts of individuals to give to God’s ministry here at Emmaus. As always, when I speak I want to do my best to get out of the way and let God do his thing. So, please also pray for the campers that I will be ministering to this summer. Pray that God can use me to communicate his Gospel to them. Please continue to pray for Emmaus as we continue to minister to the local church. We are super excited about everything that is going on with our school and Biblical Narrative Series.Blessings,Stephen